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Illuminated Journaling Something remarkable happens when we engage imagery with our time in the Word. Illuminated Journaling helps you give creative expression to your faith!

Dephemerember (funny name I know -- it's a combination of ephemera and December) has four prompts a week -- and I must c...
12/12/2024

Dephemerember (funny name I know -- it's a combination of ephemera and December) has four prompts a week -- and I must confess I was watching with dread as yesterday's prompt crept closer and closer. The prompt: "Your least favorite type of ephemera and Bookbinding Art".

For the most part I love all the various type of ephemera that can be made to include in our junk journals....I tend to have favorite techniques and those that are not so much my favorite...and I knew that was what I was going to have to choose.

What is monster technique that I avoid like the plague? Die cuts with a gabillion little pieces that have to be cut out of 10,000 different kinds or colors of paper. I love the look -- just don't have the patience....and there it was a prompt that was asking me to do the thing that I liked the least.

Life does that to me sometimes too. And I tend to avoid it until I can't put it off any longer. But yesterday was the day. So with a bit of a grumpy attitude I went and found a beautiful die by Spellbinders Paper Arts and was determined to conquer it. It is a beautiful die with the words JOY highlighted in the middle....and I was determined to be joyful while I worked on it.

And then I had a thought -- I don't like the process of cutting itty bitty pieces out of a multitude of colors....what if I approached it a different way. And that is exactly what I did. I cut the letters for JOY out of some gold metallic cardstock and everything else out of while cardstock. It took barely any time (well except for that one moment that I dumped all those beautiful white pieces onto the floor and had to get down and gather them back up bit by bit -- I did almost lose my Joy then -- but I hung in there).

I went back to my desk and created the piece with all the white bits....thinking I would just let it be monochromatic except for the JOY down the middle....and when I looked at it -- it WAS beautiful...but then I had an idea (I'll be honest -- I wasn't sure if it was the kind of idea the grinch had or if it were a genuine creative thought). I pulled out my copic markers and made all those gabillion bits the colors (with shading).
Remainder in 1st comment.

This week's Advent candle...was the Candle of peace. Something I know each of us seek after daily.The prompt was journal...
10/12/2024

This week's Advent candle...was the Candle of peace. Something I know each of us seek after daily.

The prompt was journaling to make a journaling card and include an unexpected visitor. The Prince of Peace coming to earth as a baby could not be more unexpected.

I made the background with a stencil, black opaque texture paste and let the mi c a sprays give it a beautiful subtle shimmer.

I added the Hebrew words Sar Shalom (as written in our English alphabet) and made a small cluster of Marey and the baby Jesus. The b ack gives a bit more explanation.

May you find peace this season in the unexpected visitor....Baby Jesus...who would one day die for each of our sins on the Cross.

Merry Christmas precious friends!

Finished up last week's prompts for Dephemerember. The prompt was snippet roll and woven flowers. I thought I knew whe...
10/12/2024

Finished up last week's prompts for Dephemerember. The prompt was snippet roll and woven flowers. I thought I knew where to start (see last picture)....but when I looked at it...I loved it as a snippet because it had a little bit of everything I had used in making the journal for Hope.

But the more I looked at it....it seemed too busy for the flowers to pop and shine...and that wouldn't be right since both parts of the prompt are important....so back to the drawing board. This on was much simpler...a page from "A Christmas Carol" decorated and cut into smaller pieces...arranged on a stamp background of tea-dyed paper and a bit of cheesecloth. I sewed around each piece to give it some visual interest. Now the flowers could shine. Tangles of gold and green thread made the flowers look like they had always meant to be there.

Creative lesson...don't be afraid to change your mind... and sometimes simple is stunning.

I'm catching up....Prompt # 3 for Dephemerember was: Quirky Dog and Apothecary Label. Clearly not things I necessarily ...
07/12/2024

I'm catching up....Prompt # 3 for Dephemerember was: Quirky Dog and Apothecary Label. Clearly not things I necessarily associate with Christmas....but I did have a bit of fun on this one. The burly dog with a lace ruffled collar leaving a ransom note for the "special" egg nog that Santa gets kind of made me giggle.

Prompt # 2 for Dephemerember -- I'm a bit behind and using the weekend to catch up -- was to create a layered tag and u...
07/12/2024

Prompt # 2 for Dephemerember -- I'm a bit behind and using the weekend to catch up -- was to create a layered tag and use a retro filmstrip. Hmmmmmm...

I went waaaay back in my stash for some Papertrey Ink layered labels....and the pinecone and pine branch background from Creative Worship Stamps. The film strip is from 49 and Market. And those little cuties in the picture are all the Saulsberry cousins around a real tinsel tree. Great memory.

I'm participating in . It's a fun challenge for junk journalers hosted by and Barabara from to stretch our creativi...
06/12/2024

I'm participating in . It's a fun challenge for junk journalers hosted by and Barabara from to stretch our creativity. There are four prompts a week and the weekend to catch up. It isn't Christmas themed....but if I am to have a Christmas journal I decided mine needed to focus on the Christmas season. I'll try to share the prompts as I finish them.

The first prompt was "altered playing card and antique key."

My take was to alter the 3 and King....and use the hymn "We Three Kings" as the background....tucking them behind a rosette with a wax seal holding the key. I finished with a silhouette of the three kings on the bottom.

I love the challenge of thinking outside the box. I traded journals with and will be adding this into the journal she made for me.

I hope your December is off to a great start and that you don't get too lost in our longer "to do" lists and have a few minutes to remember the little baby that came to earth so that our need for a Savior could be crossed off the life long "to do" list.

The next prompt is "Layered tag and retro filmstrip." I'm going to have to power that one tonight.

Blessings...Jann

Having fun putting together a bit of a winter wonderland in my new little nest....not quite done...but here's a glimpse ...
03/12/2024

Having fun putting together a bit of a winter wonderland in my new little nest....not quite done...but here's a glimpse of what I've done so far.

So I found this old table hidden behind the dumpster in my condo complex. I don't want to hurt her feelings....but she w...
01/11/2024

So I found this old table hidden behind the dumpster in my condo complex. I don't want to hurt her feelings....but she wasn't pretty on the outside at all. But -- something told me that she was really a beauty if someone would just give her a little love. So home she came with me.

My studio is upstairs -- and I was not up to hauling her up two flights of stairs -- so I went to work on her just inside the front door.

She is still a work in progress....but with paint and some pretty transfers from Prima Marketing Inc.. she is beginning to look like a lady with a new haircut! I think she is going to make a great bedside table...What do you think?

Good Morning Loves.How are you doing?I thought I would share one of my Gratitude Journaling pages that I have been worki...
29/10/2024

Good Morning Loves.
How are you doing?
I thought I would share one of my Gratitude Journaling pages that I have been working on for a while. It is from Day 5 (1 Kings 8:2,5)...and I call it THEY DANCED.
The devotional centered around how King Solomon chose to dedicated the new temple during the Celebration of Sukkot...and it was a celebration like no other.
My takeaway was that I need to be less concerned about what others may think of me when I am overcome with gratitude and just shut them out and focus on what I want to communicate to my Heavenly Father.
I created this in my Interleaved Journaling Bible so I had a whole page for the illustration.
The word Sukkot -- on the second page was created with some clear vinyl ( you know the kind you use to cover your kids school books with to protect them). I played around with alcohol ink on a sheet about 8 x 8 inches....and then cut out the letters for Sukkot from the parts I liked the best. I like that you can see through the alcohol ink...and also the watercolor I used for the contrasting color around it. I outlined the words with a Gold Leafing pen to set the word "Sukkot" off a bit.
The illustration was just something I sketched out very loosely...did a watercolor underpainting and then added details with colored pencils....still one of my favorite illustrative techniques when working in my Bible as non of the mediums seep through.
I used the ground on the bottom as space for my journaling.

Good morning loves!Well...I thought I had shared this entry from my 30 Days of Gratitude online retreat with you...oh wa...
15/10/2024

Good morning loves!

Well...I thought I had shared this entry from my 30 Days of Gratitude online retreat with you...oh way back on Day One...because it was inspired by the devotion on that day...but...apparently I!

Gratitude begins at the foot of the cross.

I chose to do a page in my journaling Bible to remind me of this truth. It honestly has been a long time since I have worked on an "illustration" in my Bible because Parkinsons's has had an impact on my ability to work on details.

But I thought that nothing would express my gratitude for the gift of the cross more than giving an open-handed gift/offering of me heART + Parkinsons to my God and Father.

Yes, it took me longer. No, it doesn't exactly look like I imagined it in my mind. But I am confident He will accept it with the love and the eyes of a Father who will see my desire to please Him with a gift -- a gift of gratitude and obedience.

I did it because He told us to let our hearts be filled with continuous praise and gratitude (Colossians 3:16-17)

Hope you are having a wonderful day. Love you guys to bits!

Today is the anniversary of Royce's transplant day...and Facebook blew up my phone with their normal "on this day" stuf...
08/10/2024

Today is the anniversary of Royce's transplant day...and Facebook blew up my phone with their normal "on this day" stuff. It was good to be reminded of what a blessing that gift of a kidney was for Royce, for Weston, for me...and all those people whose lives were touched by a most remarkable man called Royce. And then I became a bit of a puddle missing him. It's part of the process of living life without your "person." You cry...and then you smile...cause you realize you were BLESSED...and because you know he would crack up at the thought of my ridiculously dramatic candle lit fireplace setup.

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